STEVENS, J(OHN) P(ETERS)

born Feb. 2, 1868, North Andover, Mass., U.S. died Oct. 29, 1929, Plainfield, N.J. merchant who founded J.P. Stevens, one of the biggest firms in the American textile industry. John Stevens' grandfather, Nathaniel Stevens, started in the textile industry during the War of 1812. Nathaniel's son (John's uncle) Moses took over the textile company and made it one of the largest in the country. John Stevens started his career working for a Boston dry-goods commission house, Faulkner Page & Co., and by 1899 he had enough money to establish his own dry-goods commission house in New York City, named J.P. Stevens & Co. His commission house prospered by selling the products of his uncle's company. He also purchased interests in many textile firms in New England and was one of the first textile industrialists to invest heavily in mills in the South. He served as director of six textile mills.